Fishermen Kenneth Rodenhouse and Stephen Fendelet, with Wyandotte Police Detective Joe Carr and Police Officer Nick Stathakis rescued a suicidal man Nov. 7 from the Detroit River near Bishop Park in Wyandotte.
Wyandotte Police Detective Sgt. Ken Groat helped rescue a suicidal man Nov. 7 from the Detroit River near Bishop Park in Wyandotte.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – A man experiencing a mental health crisis is alive thanks to the quick cooperation of two fishermen and Wyandotte police officers performing a river rescue Nov. 7 near Bishop Park.
Deputy Police Chief Archie Hamilton said a 30-year-old Wyandotte man intentionally jumped off the pier about 3 p.m. in Bishop Park into the cold water of the Detroit River and swam several hundred feet from shore in an apparent suicide attempt.
Fishermen Kenneth Rodenhouse of Gowen and Stephen Fendelet of Ecorse offered to help Wyandotte Detective Sgt. Ken Groat, Detective Joe Carr and Officer Nick Stathakis rescue the man with their boat.
“They reached him just in time and were able to pull him out of the water and onto the boat,” Hamilton said. “The man was taken to Henry Ford (Wyandotte) Hospital where it appears he will make a full recovery.”
He said the quick action of the fishermen and police officers saved the man’s life.
“Despite a happy ending, this situation could have easily turned deadly for our rescuers,” Hamilton said. “There was a legitimate threat that the small fishing boat could have capsized when the men pulled the victim from the water. Luckily, the man was too weak to fight the rescue, which allowed them to keep the boat afloat and complete the rescue.”